Tips for an Impactful Life Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and while you walk, smile. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, “My purpose is to… today.” Live with the 3 E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy, and the 3 F’s: Faith, Family, Friends. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6. Dream more while you are awake. Try to make at least three people smile each day. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn, pass all your tests. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appears and fades away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does. Make peace with your past, so it won’t mess up the present. Don’t compare your life with others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special. No one is in charge of your happiness except

More Tips for Living: 1. The best way to get even is to forget… 2. Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death… 3. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts… 4. Some folks wear their halos much too tightly… 5. Some marriages are made in heaven, but they ALL have to be maintained on earth… 6. Unless you can create the whole universe in 6 days, then perhaps giving “advice” to God isn’t such a good idea! 7. Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up… 8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous. You can get knocked down by the traffic from both ways. 9. Words are windows to the heart. 10. A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it’s a forgery. 11. It isn’t difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill just add a little dirt. 12. A successful marriage isn’t finding the right person-it’s being the right person. 13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground. 14. Too many people offer God prayers, with claw marks all over them. 15. The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can hold it. 16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law and four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table, but the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated at the mess. “We must do something about grandfather,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in grandfather’s direction, he sometimes had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. Their four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study, told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and how much he loved him. He handed him a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with his name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?!” He stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible behind. Many years passed and the young man became very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family but realized his father was very old. He thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. But before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away and willed all of his possessions to him. He needed to

My brother Kevin thinks God lives under his bed. At least that’s what I heard him say one night. He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped outside his closed door to listen. “Are you there, God?” he said. “Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed.” I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humour. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in. He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labour. Apart from his size (he’s 6’2″), there are few ways in which he is an adult. He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7 year old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas, and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them. I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, returning to eat his